FirstYear: Raynie Day
by LostInSweden
Summary: George tells his children about a girl he met during his second year at Hogwarts, and never really got rid of.
1. Prologue: The Story of Raynie Day

George Weasley Sat with this two children, Roxanne and Fred.

"Daddy, Who is this lady?" His oldest, Fred asked as he pointed to a photo. George looked at it and grinned.

"Well my dear children," he began, "That's your aunt Raynie, one of my business associates."

"Aunt?" Roxanne asked, "Why don't we se her during the holidays?"

"She usually goes to see her muggle family during the holidays." George answered, "She hasn't come to visit since Fred proposed to her. I think he embarrassed herm, which is quite hard to do."

Roxanne looked at her brother and giggled as his face turned red.

"I did not!" the boy exclaimed.

"But you did, and I don't blame you, she is a beautiful woman." George said, then a noise erupted from the other room, "But not as beautiful as your mother of course."

"Better," George's wife said as she entered the room, "now who are youtalking about?"

"Raynie," he said dully, than his eyes lit up. He spoke again but with more energy. "Would you tow like to hear about aunt Raynie?"

"you know she's not really their aunt," George's wife said as the children nodded vigorously.

"She might as well be," George said gruffly, "She would have married him, given enough time."

"Whatever" she said, "tell you story."

"Once upon a time," George began, "When my twin was alive and it was our second year at Hogwarts, a girl named Raynie day was thrown into our lives..."


	2. Chapter 1: The Train

Mrs. Day pushed her daughter onto the already moving Hogwarts Express, right after her father threw her trunk onto the train with her cat, Morty.

"Mum!" she cried as the train picked up speed.

"Bye Raynie dear!" the woman called as she waved to her daughter, "Have a good time at school! We'll write you soon!"

Raynie watched her mother until she disappeared. Then she huffed and began to hull ther heavy trunk the rest of the way into the car. Taking peeks into the compartments, she saw they were all full with youths quite a bit older then herself. Sighing she began to pull her trunk back into the next car.

That is where she met _him._

"Oi" came a voice. Raynie jumped before looking around. In the doorway she saw a muscular young man, with red hair leaning in the doorway. "What are you doing here?" he asked, eying her trunk, which was not stuck in the gap between the two train cars.

"The compartments were full in that car and so I tried to move to the other one," she said, then she blushed, "then I got stuck. And I don't know where to sit."

"I see," he said. Then he pulled out his wand and flicked his wrist and her trunk began to float above the gap, than he scooped Raynie up as if she did not weigh an ounce.

"Eep!" the noise escaped the girl as she was lifted, shocked by the sudden movement.

"I have just the place for you," he said before trotting into the next car, her trunk bouncing behind them.

"Put me down!" Raynie demanded as she squirmed from under the boy's arm, "The indignity, the insanity the… the… encyclopedia!"

"You seem to enjoy words with the in-sound in front of them." The guy laughed as they move down the hall.

"Indeed," Raynie said, she could feel the blush growing on her face. The boy approached a very noisy compartment. He swiftly knocked on the door.

"Special delivery," he said cheerfully as he opened the door and threw Raynie in, her trunk right after her.

"Bloody Hell Charlie!" the boy Raynie had landed on yelled.

"Be nice boys." Charlie said, "By the way cute underwear," he added before closing the door. Raynie looked a her rear to see her strawberry underwear exposed. Before she could fix them she was dumped on the ground by her 'seat.'

"Fred!" the boy said as he hulled Raynie's trunk off the other person, revealing a face same boy.

"Ow!' the one from under the trunk said. Raynie's eyes were wide. The two were identical. They had the same red hair, brown eyes and long strait nose. Their lips which were in different shapes at the moment were alike in fullness.

"What?" one of the boys asked, snapping her out of her trance, "Never seen twins before."

"No," Raynie said eyes wide, "can I touch you?"

"Nope, but you can touch Fred here," her human pillow said laughing, "but be careful he's a bit battered at the moment because…."

The boy stopped talking as Raynie reached over and began touching his brother's face. She gently began shaping his mouth with her hands, running her fingers over his scalp and poking him in the chest several time. Suddenly she turned around and pulled on the other one's cheeks.

"Ok, you're both real," She said sitting down. The twins looking at her as if she was insane.

"Who are you?" the one from under her trunk asked.

"Raynie Day," she answered as Morty jumped on her lap, "who are you."

"I'm George, he's Fred," her human pillow said not taking his eyes off her, "Your name is Rainy day? That is wicked."

"Glad you like it." Raynie said popping a jelly bean into her mouth. The taste in her mouth was foul. She spit the thing out and began to wipe her tongue on her handkerchief. The two boys immediately began laughing.

"What was that?" Raynie asked when the laughter died.

"Bertie Botts every flavor beans" Fred said before handing Raynie a red one, "This one is strawberry flavored."

"Really?" Raynie asked looking suspiciously at them. When he nodded, she took it and bit down. Heat erupted in her mouth. She opened her mouth and panted, fanning her mouth frantically while the twins rolled on the ground laughing. George handed her a juice once he had calmed down.

"Welcome to our world," He said as Raynie drowned the liquid and Fred wiped the tears from his eyes, "Welcome to the world of Weasley."


	3. Chapter 2: New Life

"We part ways here," Fred said to Raynie as she stepped off the train. She really couldn't tell them apart, but she decided one must be Fred and the other must be George. She had a fifty percent chance of getting it right.

"What if I don't believe you?" Raynie asked, she had grown a bit wiry of the twin during the train ride, which included never eating anything that they were not.

"First Years!" came a loud accented voice, "First years come this way, First years."

"Fine," Raynie said before turning, and froze. A little ways away there was the largest man she had ever seen. Not overweight, but tall and muscular. He had tangled black hair and beard and wore a large overcoat that would have dwarfed him, if he had not been so large, in his hand he clutched a pink umbrella. He could probably put his pointer and thumb finger in a circle and it would fit around Raynie's waist.

"Don't worry," Fred said lightly, "He only eats the really bad students."

With that he and his twin dashed off in another direction. Leaving Raynie frozen in place as the man continued to call for first years. She was about to turn around and get back on the train when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"He's joking," Charlie said in a reassuring voice, "Hagrid is one of the nicest blokes you'll ever meet."

"You ain't joshing me to make me feel better are you?" Raynie asked. She did not know what to make of Charlie Weasley. He had thrown her into a train compartment with what Raynie learned where two of his brothers, whom of which spent the whole train ride teasing her.

"No, I'm not," Charlie said with a warm smile on his face, "I thought you would have learned not to take anything my brothers say to heart. Now get going, he will leave you."

Quickly she began to dart towards the group of first years. Remembering herself she turned and began to jog backwards. When she saw Charlie watching her she yelled, "Thanks Charlieeeee!" then she tripped and fell to the ground. A hand reached down and pulled her to her feet.

"Easy does it," came the burly voice, "Ye' alright then?" Raynie made a noise that could only be considered a moan. A girl came and hooked her arm with Raynie's and nodded to Hagrid.

"Alright then, is that everyone?" Hagrid paused, upon hearing no reply he continued, "Alright to the boats hurry up now."

As the first years began to shuffle after Hagrid the girl attached to Raynie began to chatter and tug her along. Raynie, dazed on caught snippets of what she was saying.

"That was a nasty fall by the way," She said when Raynie could sort-of comprehend what was going on, "I should have punched the girl that tripped you."

"I was tripped?" Raynie asked, still lacking a bit of brain activity.

"Oh yes, by that girl over there," she pointed to a girl with a smug look on her face, "I really should have, you seem like such a nice girl."

"I wouldn't bother," Raynie said, "She would never be worth it."

The girl seem to have heard Raynie's comment, the smirk dissolved and was replaced with a scowl. The girl on Raynie's arm giggled.

"I'm Katie Bell by the way," she said as she helped Raynie into a boat.

"Raynie," she said as she sat down, "Thanks, and for future notice, my total disarray only lasts about a minute or so."

"This happens a lot?" Katie asked settling herself beside Rayine.

"Whenever I fall down and hit my head," Raynie said sheepishly. The girls smiled at one another.

'I think I just made a friend" Raynie thought to herself.


	4. Chapter 3: Sorting

"Day, Raynie." The Professor at the front of the room said. Raynie heard several students snicker as she walked towards the stool and the old tattered hat. It was hard to believe that it had broken out into song mere minutes ago, and had yelled out the names of the four houses when a child was placed under it.

"Her name's Rainy Day, Her parents must not love her very much," some students whispered loudly. These campe from a house on the far wall, decorated in Green and Silver.

" I hope I'm not in that house." Raynie muttered to herself before the old tatterd hat was placed on her head, falling over her eyes so she could no longer see the Great hall.

"So Slytherin is not for you then eh?" a voice said in her ear, "don's speak aloud girl, you'll just embarrass yourself."

_How?_ Raynie thought.

"Didn't you hear me tell you in the song? Dear me you are obviously not Ravenclaw material, you don't have enough brains for that."

_HEY!_ Raynie though furiously.

"That temper would help you in Gryffindor. The whole house is full of hot heads. They are brave in Griffindor, are you brave little girl?" the hat asked, "Gryffindor could be a good fit for you?"

_Bravery is another word for stupidity,_ Raynie thought to the hat.

"Then it **would** fit you well. Chivilry is a wonderful thing to have, merlin knows you need it."

_I'm not a Barbie, I can't be whatever you want me to be you know._ Raynie snapped at the hat, _I'm not like everybody else, I don't come from a cookie cutter mold._

"You need to be accepted, with people that will love your, individuality. You belong in **HUFFLEPUFF!**" The hat yelled the last word and it was yanked off her head. Raynie ran towards the table that was cheering and settled herself on the bench. She looked over and saw the Griffindor table and her heart sank, Fred, George and Charlie were in Griffindor, and Katie Bell had just been sorted there. Then she caught a look at their faces. They were filled with genuine glee. So what if she wasn't in the same house as them, they could still be friends.

_This is my new family,_ Raynie thought, _this will be my new home._


	5. Chapter 4: Start of Something New

Fred and George were headed down to the Great Hall when they saw Raynie, hands on her head. As they drew near, the twins saw that her fingers were severely tangled in her hair ribbon.

"Need any help?" George asked in Raynie's ear as Fred came up in-front of him. She jumped body not sure of where to go she stumbled. George caught her.

"I'm kind of attached to my hair, and I would like it to stay in my head," Raynie said once she caught her breath. She then continued to yank her fingers off her head, with no success.

"Don't worry," Fred said as he pulled out his wand, "We have a little sister, we practice this quite a bit."

"Really? Ok do it." Raynie said shrugging George off, "but if it hurts I swear I will find my way to your dormitories and put something slimy in your beds."

Raynie heard Fred say something she couldn't catch. As her fingers were released the sensation of hair being pulled back and re-arranging itself. She put her hands on her head to make sure she hadn't sprouted antlers. She felt small braids leading to the back of her head where they ended in a ponytail tied with her bright yellow bow.

"Oh, thank you!" Raynie said as she grabbed both boys around the neck. Then she bounced down the rest of the stairs and into the Great Hall, oblivious to the smiles on the twins' faces.

"Raynie! Your hair!" one of her housemates, a boy a year ahead of her said with wide eyes.

"Fred and George did it for me," Raynie said, not noticing the distress in the boy's voice. Then she continued down the table to sit with her year-mates. She pulled eggs and bacon onto her plate before digging in. Time tables were handed out and Raynie discovered that she and the other Hufflepuff first years had Charms as their first class. One of the prefects showed them the way.

"Have fun Hobbits," He said as he walked away.

"We are not Hobbits!" Raynie called after him. Noticing the other students' baffled looked by the comment she explained, "Hobbits are some creatures from a muggle book series, known for being short."

Several students nodded in understanding while others just rolled their eyes. Then they entered the classroom.

"Hello children, come in, come in. Sit down, I am Professor Flitwick. I am your Charms Professor" said a kind voice. It took a while for Raynie to find the source. It was a very short man in the middle of the room.

"Now that's a Hobbit." Raynie said with wide eyes.

During their first class, Charms was explained in full. What were Charms, what was not. What things they might learn over the course of the year. Then Professor Flitwick set the students to practice waving their wands, not cast spells, just how to wave the properly.

Their next class was Herbology, which took place in the greenhouses. As the Hufflepuffs shuffled to their class, they passed a group of fourth years. Several began to giggle and cover their mouths after looking at the first years. Confused Raynie looked at her year-mates. Noticing nothing unusual, she again placed her hands on her head, to make sure nothing had grown out of it. Finding nothing she jogged to catch up to the other students.

Inside the greenhouses, Professor Sprout had her students transfer plants into larger pots, and placing the new bulbs into smaller ones. Mostly the class was full of busy work.

As homework was being assigned Raynie felt a tug on her left ankle and felt herself flying into the air. She screamed while looking at the ground, then looking at her leg she shrieked even more loudly when she saw that a thick green vine was wrapped around it. Then a flash of light hit the vine and Raynie fell to the ground.

"I haven't seen one of my plants half as violent towards anyone in, well thirty years. Does anyone know what that was?" Professor Sprout asked, with no reply she continued, "That was an Austrian Snap-Tropicana. Your new assignment for the nigh is to find out what their uses are and what they eat, other then first years. Are you like that?"

"I'm Ok, some things just don't like me." Raynie said, the ground had avoided her head, "Can I go now? I'm dirty."

"Of course, Class dismissed." Professor Sprout said. Not wanting to be the plant's next meal, the children raced out of the greenhouse towards the Castle. Upon entering the Great Hall Raynie detoured to a bathroom to wash up.

* * *

><p>Fred and George were being scolded, by Charlie, in the Great Hall when they heard the scream. They then saw Raynie burst out of the bathroom a look of sheer determination on her face. It took her a moment to spot them. Once she did, she began to sprint towards them. Charlie took one look at Raynie, and knew immediately who the culprit was, but before he could say anything Raynie had jumped onto the twins and dragged them to the ground.<p>

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squeaked as he hugged the twins, "I love it!"

The twins were dumb founded, they had not anticipated that reaction.

"You're welcome?" George said tentatively, still confused as the three stood up.

Charlie looked at the girl who vexed his brothers and grinned. "She'll be good for them" He thought as he saw her slip something into George's pocket, "She's just like them, but in a more helpless sort of way. Merlin only knows what they would be like if she were a boy."


	6. Chapter 5: Discovery

After lunch, Raynie noticed her year mates were nowhere to be seen. After several minutes of wondering she finally found her classroom. She burst through the door just in time to see a cat turn into Professor McGonagall. The students, not noticing Raynie, burst into applause. Raynie's eyed grew to saucers.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" she blurted. The class turned to her. Now that Raynie was looking at them, she could see they were third years, not her year mates.

"Ms. Day," Professor McGonagall said, "This is not your class, where are you supposed to be?"

"Charms Ma'am," Raynie said turning red, making such a stupid mistake inf front of third years was quite embarrassing, "I got lost, and I thought this was the Charms room. I don't possess a good sense of direction."

"Well this is not Charms now is it?" Professor McGonagall said, "You better be on your way."

"Yes Ma'am" Raynie said shutting the door behind her.

After a few moments Raynie found her way to her classroom. She took a deep breath and opened the door. A small explosion came out of one of the student's wand. Raynie ducked, covering her head. After the week she had it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Pleasure for you to join us " Professor Flitwick said, "why are you late?"

"I got lost and ended up in Transfiguration, Sir" Raynie said getting off the ground.

"Well," He said, "To your seat then, and practice waving your wand properly. Ms. Cane, please do not try to cast anymore spells until you master the movement."

Raynie quickly sat, making sure there was a large sum of distance between her and the girl's who's wand caused the explosion.

"And one point from Hufflepuff for being late." He added as he preceded to demonstrate the proper wand movement.


	7. Chapter 6: Brooms

Flying Lessons, Raynie was scared. Being afraid of heights, turned this into her worst nightmare, but she stood, broom in hand, waiting to be told the next step. She half wished she would throw up and get it over with. Her mother was not here to give her the medicine, which she now knew was a sickness-be-gone potion, after she got up in the morning to calm her nerves.

"Mount up!" Madame Hooch said.

Felling green, the girl did as she was told, praying that she wouldn't leave the ground.

"When I blow my whistle, you will kick off the ground; fly a few feet then land." She said, "Three, two, one."

Raynie kicked off the ground as Madame Hooch blew the whistle. The girl was in the air for about half a second before she was on her back, on the ground. She had flipped upside-down before she had fallen.

As she lay there, she could see that the rest of the first years were either on the ground looking rather flustered or in the air quite shocked and pleased with themselves. Few had noticed Raynie's mishap and only the few on brooms dared laugh. Raynie blushed fiercely as she stood.

After several more attempts, Raynie progressed, from landing on her back, to being dumped on her butt. She would always hover for a bit before gravity decided it didn't want to let her go and pulled her back.

"There's always one in every group," Madam Hooch said, patting her on the back, "With time, you'll improve."

Raynie mumbled a word of thanks to be polite, but inside she was glad she was unable to go anywhere but down. If she had lost control after she had risen over ten feet like most of the other first years, she could have seriously hurt herself. Now she only suffered a few bruises, instead of broken bones.


	8. Chapter 7: Flying Lessons

"Relax Raindrop," Charlie said, "You'll never get better if you don't relax."

Raynie grimaced at his name for her. It made her feel small. While all the other students excelled at flying, Raynie remained grounded. Having heard of her troubles through the grapevine, Charlie offered to help. Now the pair stood on the Quidditch pitch each with a broom.

"But what if I fall?" Raynie whined, not wanting to progress any more.

"I've told you twenty-seven times, If you fall I'll catch you." Charlie was patient, but Raynie was trying the patient.

"There will be no chance of that if we just stay on the ground. So why can't I just do that." Raynie asked.

"All folk with magic know how to ride a broom. For underage wizards it's the only form of travel you really get." He said, "besides, once you learn you'll be having so much fun you'll never want to come down."

"Fat chance," Raynie murmured as she mounted her broom. Charlie came up behind her.

"Relax your shoulders," he said placing a big hand on her back, "take a deep breath and imagine yourself floating."

Raynie closed her eyes and did as she was told. She felt the ground slowly ease away, but with Charlie's hand on her shoulder she knew she was safe. Besides she was only a foot or so from the ground.

"Now squeeze your handle, than lean to the left." Charlie said. The girl did as she was told. A slight breeze blew through her hair, getting stronger as she turned. Charlie's hand fell away from her.

"Now open your eyes." His voice sounded distant. Raynie opened her eyes and saw the tree tops. She gasped in awe, gazing into the distance. She saw something silvery white walk into the clearing. Raynie leaned forward to get a better look and she began racing towards the ground. Panic seized the girl as she saw the ground approaching. Going faster and faster she was a few yards away when an arm grabbed her around the middle and popped her out of her broom before pulling onto another.

Raynie watched her broom plummet into the ground. She had a flash of herself flying off the broom and crashing into the ground. She shoved her face into the body that held her ans shook, breathing deeply to keep herself from crying.

Charlie pulled Raynie closer to him, his brain thinking. Taking her back to the castle might not be a good idea; she didn't look like she was able to walk. Carrying her was not an option. Not that she was heavy, quite the opposite, she was particularly light for an eleven year old. Charlie would know how the other students would react, not to mention his brothers, the new Gryffindor beaters. Then he saw his answer out of the corner of his eye. He turned his broom and began to fly.

Charlie knocked on the door, arm still around Raynie, holding her up. Barking came from behind the door. Raynie twitched at the sound.

"Quiet Fang. Shut your yap Fluffy," came a burly voice. The door opened to revel Hagrid, "Charlie, haven't seen you in a while, who's this."

"Puppy," Raynie said as she saw the dog. Charlie walked in the door as Fang licked her face.

"What's that?" Charlie asked gesturing go the corner. Gesturing to a three headed dog tied in the corner, about the same size a Fang.

"That? That's Fluffy," Hagrid said, "Got 'im last week. Careful he bites."

Raynie pushed Charlie's arm away from her and she fell to the ground. Fang kept licking her face, washing the way all traces of her crying. She started scratching behind his ears.

Hagrid made tea for his guests as Charlie explained what happened. Eating and chatting the two didn't notice Raynie's actions. Before they knew it, Raynie shrieked. The two turned to see she had untied Fluffy. The dog was on to.

"Fang! Geoff her!" Hagrid yelled as he yanked the dog off of her. As Charlie pulled the girl towards him.

"Fluffy!" Raynie said reaching towards the dog as it barked furiously at her.

"Charlie, has she lost her marbles?" Hagrid asked holding the dog away from her as he snapped a her fingertips

"I knew you would like her." Charlie said pulling Raynie farther away.

"I wanna play with Fluffy!" Raynie yelled, then she elbowed Charlie in the stomach and sprinted towards the 3 headed dog. She grabbed one of the head's collars. Stroking the dog she began to hum, and he began to calm down. Fang came up and began to wash Raynie's ear.

"I've never seen Fluffy like that, ever." Hagrid said shocked.

"I guess she's a dog person." Charlie said petting Fang.

"I've seen her walking to and from Herbology," Hagrid admitted, "She's as easy to spot as you Weasleys."

"I thought dogs weren't allowed, or I would have brought one of mine, instead of Morty." Raynie said. When the humming stopped Fluffy began to grown. Raynie began to hum again and he quieted and began to doze.

"Come here youngster, tell me about yourself," Hagrid said patting the chair. Charlie began to whistle.

"What do you want you know?" Raynie asked.

"First off, what did you do to make your head that color?" Hagrid asked.

"Fred and George" Raynie and Charlie coursed.


	9. Chapter 8: Halloween

By late October the Hufflepuffs disliked Raynie. To be more specific, it was really the first year girls whom disliked her. It was not as if she was a bad person, Raynie just lost too many points for them to be civil towards her. Not wanting to face the wrath of the girls the boys kept her distance. To be worse, some of the older Hufflepuffs began to take notice of Raynie's daily point loss. She had taken to sitting with the Gryffindors on most occasions, or the kinder, more understanding, upperclassmen.

Raynie spat out her oatmeal and the twins burst out laughing. The other students joined when they saw her intensely wiping her tongue on her napkin.

"What did you do?" she demanded, wishing she could brush her teeth.

"just something we made in potions class the other day," George said, "Don't worry the effects should wear off by lunch time."

"What effects?" Raynie asked, but she could already feel her ears and fingers tingle. Looking at her fingers she could see they turned green, and judgeing by the way Katie's eyes bulged, her ears had done the same. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw some liquid spurt out of someone's mouth. Turning her head to get a better look, she saw it was Charlie, and the liquid hadn't come out of his mouth. Milk had blasted out of his nose.

Elbowing Fred, she directed his attention to his brother, whom was now blotting his robes with a napkin as white fluid dripped from his nose. As Fred laughed his arse off she smeared a bit of her pourage under his toast. George, catching Raynie's eye, winked signifying he was in on the joke. With that simple motion, Raynie now knew that Fred was going to eat the toast without her putting forth the effort.

"I have to go," Katie said covering her mouth and running towards the bathroom.

"Oh my gosh," George said suddenly, "Halloween is on Wednesday!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Raynie said, "I'm going to miss the trick-or-treating"

The twins looked at each other, "The what?" They asked looking at her.

"It's a muggle tradition. Muggle children dress up as 'fictional' creatures and go house to house begging for candy," Raynie explained, "It's my favorite holiday, defying stranger danger,"

"Oh! Se have that too," Fred said, "but we call it the sugar parade."

"Yeah, on Halloween night, before the feast. Some students go to teacher's classrooms to ask for candy. Not many students participate, but the professors are always prepared." George continued.

"You know who has the best candy?" Fred asked.

"Who?" Raynie asked scooting closer.

"Professor Snape," George said, "But you have to be first."

"Because he gives all his candy to the first student who talks him out of it," Fred continued.

"He will pretend that he doesn't celebrate Halloween the muggle way."

"Or he pretends to have not clue what you are talking about. You have to convince him that you are the right person to give candy to."

Raynie's eyes grew wide as the twins talked, taking it all in. Her mind calculateing the ways she might be able to obtain the sugary treasure. She didn't even notice when Fred slathered jam on his toast and took a bite. He swallowed the bit, then immediately began to drink the pumpkin juice strait form the pitcher. She did notice however, when juice spilled onto her skirt. She stood and turned to yell at him but stopped. His ears had turned violet. Stifling a giggle, she stepped off the bench.

"I need to change," she said snickering.

"I can fix it." George said holding up his wand.

"I think I'll pass," Raynie said, noticing the malicious glint in his eye, "besides I have to get my books." She walked away, feeling the green spreading up her hands.

Wednesday night, Raynie pulled on the costume her mother had made hor her during her short-lived cleaning phase. The Black satin felt cool on her skin as she pulled up her thigh-highs and attached them to her garter. Grabbing her back she crept out the window, she didn't want anyone to see her and keep her from getting to Snape.

She snuck through the secret passages she had found. She made her way towards the one that kept her from being late to potions. She shoved the statues aside to reveal a hole that the twins once sent her down to see where it lead. She agreed only because they promised to show her some other ones later, they hadn't lived up to their promise yet.

She got down on her hands and knees and began to back into the tunnel. As the statue moved back into place the floor disappeared from under her and she began her decent into the dungeons. A giggle escaped her lips as she slid down the stone, so smooth the dust slid right off and the speed she reached was almost as fast as falling. Then she landed in a pile of sheets, waiting to be folded, the final cushion to her fall.

"Hello Ms. Raynie," said a squeaky voice. Raynie looked and smiled at Dinky the house elf.

"Hi Dinky!" Raynie said as she climbed out of the clothes, "are my sheets clean yet?"

"Not yet, Ms. Raynie, but it should be done this afternoon." Dinky squeaked.

"Should I come and get it then?" Raynie asked.

"No, no, no! Ms. Raynie!" The elf said working herself into a tizzy, "For someone like yourself to come and get your own laundry! This is bad! Bad, Dinky Bad!"

Raynie grabbed the elf's hands before she began hitting herself, "Calm down" Raynie said, "I used to wash my own clothes. Picking them up is no problem, besides I kind of like it. I have to go, see you later." Then she left, she had no doubt that Dinky was banging her head against something, but Dinky always did that. If she tried to stop her and more then she already did, Dinky might run herself through the old fashion dryer thing.

Smoothing her hair she walked towards Professor Snape's office. After fixing her skirt she put a big smile on her face, and knocked.

"I never really learned what happened down there." George told his children as they looked at him wide eyed, "All I know is that she was dragged up to the Great Hall and was given to Professor Sprout, along with a lot of yelling. The only word I was able to pick out were, 'Detention,' 'Trophy,' 'Month,' and 'outfit.' But she never told anyone who put her up to it, even when we were called up and questioned about it, she said it was her own idea. That's how we knew we could trust her, as much as you can trust a prankster."


	10. Chapter 9: Quidditch

"But I don't want to go!" Raynie whined as she was being dragged to the Quidditch pitch. She hated watching sports, she would much rather play them. But Quidditch was played on broomsticks, which made it very un-appealing to Raynie, and the spectators' stands were high up in the air.

"Come on Raynie," Katie said, "it's Ravenclaw verses Hufflepuff, you have to go."

"I don't see why I have to." Raynie said straining from the grip of Katie and Lee Jordan.

"Can't we just leave her?" Lee Jordan asked, "Fred and George would forgive her."

"No, they won't." Katie told her housemate, "Besides, she needs to watch it, her house is playing."

"No I don't," Raynie said straining.

"What are you doing," Came a new voice. The tree looked up to see Charlie and a girl with canary yellow hair. "You know that could be considered manhandling." Charlie said, his prefect's badge twinkling in the sunlight.

"The Gryffindors released Raynie as if she were made of hot ember and ran. The sudden release caused Raynie to fall back, smacking the ground right at Charlie's feet.

"Hello Raindrop. This is Tonks," He said gesturing to the girl beside him.

"So you're Raindrop, Charlie tells me about you," Tonks said offering a hand, "For some reason I thought you were a Ravenclaw or something."

"Hi," Raynie said feebly as Tonks helped her to her feet.

"You don't want to go to the match?" Charlie asked Raynie.

"I don't like Quidditch." Raynie said, not looking Charlie in the eye.

"Have you ever seen a Quidditch match? Do you even know what the rules are?" Tonks asked. Raynie looked at the ground and bit her lip. "I thought so. Well how about you watch this one, to see if you like it. If you don't we can come up for valid reasons for you to show up, like detention or studying."

"Fred and George would never go for that." Raynie said, "They would expect me to sneak out."

"You know, I do have leverage over my brothers." Charlie said, "They do listen to me."

Raynie smiled at the thought. Then Tonks threw her arm around Charlie's shoulder. "And this fine fellow is going to sit with us and explain the rules to you." Tonks said, "He's the Gryffindor seeker."

Charlie looked mildy distressed, "Tonks you know I really should sit with my house, you know how my brothers get and I'm a"

"What's a seeker?" Raynie interrupted. The two seventh years looked at her shocked. They had expected her to know at least that much.

"We'll start at the beginning," Charlie said, putting his hand on her back to steer her towards the stands, "there are four balls…"

After watching the game, Raynie discovered she enjoyed watching the game. It was different from any other sport she had ever seen, and the commentary was just plain funny. Mostly it was because Charlie would cheer whenever the Ravenclaws scored, he had made a bet with Tonks on which team would win, and would receive glares, and the occasional drink, thrown at him from the Hufflepuffs whom they were sitting with. Raynie thought they might have dome more it he wasn't a prefect.

* * *

><p>In the end Hufflepuff won, so the whole house was going to have a part in the common room, where everybody discussed the game. Raynie grew bored very quickly. After an hour or so, she saw someone hiding behind the curtain. Slowly she crept towards the figure.<p>

"You don't look to happy to be here," Raynie commented, the figure stiffened, "You want to get a snack with me?"

"I don't think I can get out without being noticed," the person said, reveling them as a male.

"Leave that to me." She said reaching into her pocket for the dung bomb. Weasley (twin) rule number 22, Never be caught without a dung bomb. "Meet me in the corridor." Raynie said before she began creeping towards the crowd.

She hid behind one of the large plush arm chairs before she pulled the Dung bomb out of her pocket. Removing it from the plastic bag, to keep her clothes clean and stink free, she could feel the power she now held. Praying for a good hit she threw it upwards and over the chair.

There was a scream, and the smell began to spread around the room. People began fussing or panicking. It was so easy to get out, it was almost no fun. She wiped her hand on a curtain before she left.

"That was brilliant Raynie," The lone person in the corridor said. He was smiling, and she remembered him as the Seeker.

"You know my name?" Raynie asked nervously.

"How could I not?" He laughed, "You make such a spectacle of yourself."

"Wow… I feel bad, I can't remember yours right now." Raynie admitted.

"Well I can't really be offended because we've never been formally introduced," He said with amusement in his voice, "I'm Cedric."

"Do you have a last name to go with that, so I can forget it almost immediately afterwards?" Raynie asked the older boy.

"Diggory."

"Well Mr. Diggory shall we head towards the kitchen?"

"You know where it is?" Cedric said quizzically as he offered her is arm. Raynie took it and immediately began pulling him in the right direction.

"You don't? It's really close." Rraynie stopped before a painting of a bowl of fruit. Before Cedric could speak she began to tickle it. The boy was about to call her a mad woman when it swung open to reveal a hole, and the smell of food.

"How did you figure that out?" Cedric asked "I know I never would have."

"Dinky told me" Raynie said calmly as she entered the kitchen.

"Dinky?"

"A house elf from the laundry room." Raynie explained to him before turning to the elves, "May I please have some fruit?"

"Yes Miss Raynie!" the elves squeeked, "what would you like sir?"

"Erm… the same" Cedic said uncertainly.

The elves ushered the pair to a table. Cedric looked around taking it all in. There were four long tables, the exact size as the ones in the Great Hall and there were dozens of house elves bustling around the kitchen in their little non-clothes uniform.

"How did you discover the laundry room?" Cedric asked as he sat down.

"I fell," Raynie said selecting a pear.

"Are you going to elaborate on that?" Cedric asked.

His only reply was a smug smile followed by as bite of fruit. Cedric laughed and helped himself to an orange.

The two talked for quite a while, Cedric was shocked to learn that even though bother her parents are wizards, she was raised as a muggle. Raynie in turn was curious on how most Wizzarding families raised their children. However the house elves informed the pair that they would be late for bed if they did not leave soon. Filling the children's pockets the elves practically threw them into the corridor. Laughing they walked back to their common room holding hands.

"We have to talk more sometime." Cedric said as the entered the empty common room.

"I thought this was a one-time thing." Rayne said, pulling her hand from his.

"Why would you think that?" he asked leaning on the back of a lounge chair.

"Because, as of today you are , Cedric Diggory, Hero of Hufflepuff house, while I am Raynie day, the resident loser-of-points." Raynie said, "It wouldn't work, not with the crowd I run with."

"We could make it work," he said grabbing her hand again, "Besides, our reputations are perfect for each other's predicament."

"How so?" Raynie asked.

"You hang with me, you're not with them."

"I like them"

"Ok, I'll keep an eye on you, to keep you from losing too many points, and you can help me sto being The Golden Boy."

"You wouldn't be The Golden Boy if you just quit the Quidditch team." Raynie pointed out, and he shook his head.

"Not really an option, I love the game to much." He said, "But I do want to give this a try, I would like you to be my friend."

"Ok, Lets do this."

* * *

><p>It turned out to be quite impossible to hate Cedric Diggory, but Fred and George got pretty darn close. They hated that Raynie began to sit with her house again, even if it was just one meal a day. It infuriated that she would deny their company at times, to spend more time with 'Cedric.' They spent their times plotting ways to separate the two, or just stalked them via the map, planning never to let Raynie see it.<p> 


	11. Chapter 10: Birthday

Raynie came twirling into the Great Hall. As she sat down next to Katie the twins saw she was not wearing her uniform under her robes.

"Nice threads, what's the occasion." Fred asked, he couldn't be mad at Raynie, at least not with her right there.

"It's my Birthday" Raynie said, "I turn twelve today."

"It's your Birthday?" Katie exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Subject never came up." Raynie replied helping herself to some bacon.

"Well you should have said something," Katie pouted, "I would have gotten you something."

"Fine, come here." Raynie pulled Katie close and held a camera up over her head, "Smile!" There was a flash and Raynie had her wand out.

"What are you doing?" George asked.

"Just a little trick Charlie taught me," She said before waving her wand over her camera, "Revilato."

Smoke flew out of the end of her wand and arranged itself as Katie and Raynie had been from the cameras angle. Then she blew the smoke away.

"Nifty," Cedric said behind her. Raynie turned and smiled, the twins glared as soon as her back was turned. Seeing their looks Katie kicked the boys from under the table.

"What are you doing here?" Raynie asked, plainly happy to see him.

"Well I would usually ask you the same question, and…" he said trailing off, "to give you this."

Cedric pulled a box out from behind his back. Raynie squealed and took it. Then she began to tear apart the clumsily wrapped present. Inside was a bottle of Alchaberry's color changing nail polish.

"Thank you," Raynie said, "but how did you know?"

"I got the info from the sorce." He said, "I wrote your mother." He then sat down beside her. Raynie leaned over and hugged Cedric around the middle before proceeding to paint her nails.

The twins looked at each other. They had to top this. There was no way this pretty-boy was going to walk in and take their Raynie away from them. After nodding to one another they looked down the table at Charlie, they were going to need re-enforcements.

She got the noted during dinner, telling here to met the twins in one of the corridors.

Mumbleing to herself, Raynie made her way up to the meeting point where she saw no one. _I'll wait five minutes_ she thought _only five, and if they aren't here by then I'll leave. I have a tutoring session today with __Adrian Pucey__ and I can't miss it again._

But that five minutes never came. The Next thing Raynie knew she was surrounded by blackness and being thrown over someone's sholder.

"Put me down George," She said as she struggled to get out of what seemed to be a sack.

"I'm not George, I'm Fred," her captor claimed.

"Don't like to me," Raynie said, "George is always the one who carries me, and when you both do, he carries my legs."

"How do you know we didn't switch?" he asked.

"Because I can't tell you apart yet so you don't feel the need to switch because you think I think you do that already." Raynie said in a matter-of-fact way. And from the mumbling that followed she knew she was right, but she could not enjoy her victory because the realized that the only way she was getting out of the sack was she was set free. Upset by this idea she crossed her arms and began to pout.

"Has she figured it out?" Fred asked as the pair approached.

"No, but she is beginning to tell us apart," George said.

"We'll fix that later, now let's get her in here." Fred said followed by a shuffle of footsteps. Raynie was thrown into a plush armchair and the sac was removed from her body, she opened her eyes and gasped.

There was a cake, sitting on a table. The only light in the room came from the twelve small candles on that cake. People stood around it, boys and girls of different ages and houses.

There was Katie, the Twins, Lee Jordan, Oliver Wood and Charlie from Gryffindor, Cho Chang, Lexi Raguious Burns, and Roger Davies from Ravenclaw, Tonks, Scott Brice and Cedric from Hufflepuff, along with Adrian Pucey and Kristen Cane from Slytherin.

"Happy Birthday Raynie!" They coursed smiling widely as they spoke.

"Why didn't you tell us? We would have gotten you something." "I feel so bad that I didn't know." "Your gift is in the male, I ordered it the second I heard." "Are you sure you're twelve? It's just that you're so short."

Each sentence overlapped the other so Raynie could barely understand them. And inside Raynie felt all warm and fuzzy.

"Guess what," Kristen said, "It's time for the birthday spankings!" Most of the kids looked puzzled but several grabbed Raynie. They knew the tradition just as much as Raynie did.

"Raynie gets a smack on the arse for every year of life" Kristen continued, "Plus an extra one so she might keep growing." The rest of the kids began to grin in understanding as Raynie struggled against her captors.

"Come one guys," Raynie said.

"Who's going to do it?" Cho asked.

"Please!" Raynie was pleading now.

"One of the Seventh years," Scott said, "They're the biggest."

"Aw Come on!"

"Charlie!" Adrian said

"Yeah, Charlie," the others agreed.

"Charlie! You're a perfect" Raynie said as she was dragged over to him and thrown over his knee, "You shouldn't be doing this."

"No, I shouldn't" Charlie said looking at her softly and Raynie let out a sigh of relief and relaxed, "But it's tradition."

He smacked Raynie hard on the rear and she yelped in pain. Charlie was grinning evilly. The other students counted each time his hand hit her butt, each more painful than the last.

"And one to grow on!" the chanted before Charlie hit her for the thirteenth and last time. Raynie's captors released her and she slid off Charlie and onto the ground, fiercely rubbing her rear.

"Ow," she said, everybody laughed and she looked up. Then her eyes grew wide, "We need to get to bed NOW!"

Looking at the time Charlie spoke first, "I was not here," and slipped out the door. The other students followed suit, in pairs or groups of three. Much to Cedric's dismay, Raynie insisted she was the last one to leave then she shoved him out the door with Tonks and Scott. After closing the door for the next group she saw that only Fred and George were left.

"You two are going to pay for this," she said gesturing towards her butt. Then the boys pulled a box out from behind their back. It wasn't particularly large, but indicating all the same.

"Happy Birthday," they said holding it out to her. She slowly removed the lid to find a pair of glasses.

"Just put them on," Fred said before she could, "Then say somebody's name, someone far away."

Raynie put on the glasses and said one name, "Kylee." Then she could no longer see the twins. Instead she was looking at a group of kids sitting in a common room with purple chairs. All their attention was directed to a girl with chocolate-brown skin. She was smiling as she told a story, and by the hand gestures it was about the time Raynie got herself stuck in an igloo. Raynie removed the glasses. Kylee was gone, but the twins were there.

"Charlie did the magic," George said, "but we came up with the idea."

"We're sorry, it won't happen again." Fred continued, "Forgetting I mean. The slapping on the arse was quite funny and I think we should do it every year."

Raynie grinned and punched Fred in the arm, "You're forgiven. Now let's get out of here before Filtch finds us."

The twins told her about a few secret passages to take to avoid Flitch that would lead her safely to a place near her common room. Then they parted ways, not to see each other till morning.


	12. Chapter 11: Student and Teacher

Raynie lingered after transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was strict and kept a firm grasp on things, and Raynie admired that. That was so different from the way she was raised it drew her in like a moth to a flame.

"What do you want Miss Day?" McGonagall asked not looking up from her work.

"Um, Professor, do you remember that day I walked in on your third-year class?" Raynie asked nervously. As much as Raynie admired the woman, she was still very intimidating.

"Yes," McGonagall replied, "It was quite the distraction."

"Well, do you remember what I said that day?" Raynie asked.

"You asked to be taught how to be an animagus." McGonagall said coolly looking up at Raynie.

"Well I was wondering," Rayine paused, catching a look from McGonagall's no-nonsense eyes she blurted out the rest, "I really want you to teach me!"

McGonagall looked at the girl shocked, "No." was her firm reply.

"But Professor I really wa…"

"I said no," McGonagall said sternly, she stood up to emphasize her point.

"I want to do this Professor. I will do it, with or without your help." Raynie said, trying to look brave while her knees shook.

"It is very difficult magic Miss Day. You do not even know where to begin,"

"Yes I do, I have a book." Raynie said as she pulled a book out from behind her back.

"You are not ready to perform magic like that. You could end up killing yourself."

"Help me then, it will be a lot easier with some guidance. If you set limits I'll be less likely to jump ahead."

McGonagall stared at the girl, sheer determination on her face. "Never in my years has a student made such a request." She said sinking back into her chair, "And now, I have to hear it from a first-year who can barely hold her wand correctly. She's not even in my house!"

"Is that a good thing?" Raynie asked stepping towards the desk.

"I don't think so." McGonagall said, "Are you sure this is what you want? You could get stuck halfway between forms, and you don't even know what you will be. You could end up being a goldfish for all we know. You could go insane"

"I'm sure Professor." Raynie said, "What fun would it be without a little risk. Besides, I'm already a little insane and if I had some animal parts I would be awesome."

"Tonight you have detention, in my office." McGonagall said.

"What! Professor that's hardly fair!" Rayne objected.

"At least that is what you will tell anybody who asks where you are." McGonagall said.

"Really," Raynie said.

"You must keep your grades up in all your classes, and you need to go now, you're late for your next one."

Raynie looked at the time, McGonagall was right, even with her shortcut she was not going to make it to Potion's on time. Professor Snape was going to tan her hide. She ran out of the room and yelled "Bye!" as she sprinted out the door.

* * *

><p>Professor Snape took points from Hufflepuff. Her housemates glared at her, the Ravenclaws looked on sympathetically. They thought it was probably the twins which kept her so long. They always find a way to keep her in one place, either by 'borrowing' her wand, or snagging her clothes on something.<p>

Raynie tentatively sat down next to a Ravenclaw boy and began to place her things where they were needed. The boy pushed his neatly written notes for her to copy. Raynie smiled at him and her nails glowed yellow, displaying her pleasure. She carefully began to copy the writing. So what if she didn't get along with some of her house-mates, she had people who did, and that was enough.

* * *

><p>The new lessons with McGonagall were hard. Raynie was given a new spell to master every time they met. She spent quite a bit of time transfiguring pillows into other objects, with different degrees of success. Not only that, McGonagall was making her cas spells from other classes, a two-minute invisibility spell was one of them.<p>

"It will be useful," McGonagall had said when Raynie asked the reason, "When you start sprouting a tail or other animal features you will need to stay out of sight. As for the rest, well, you're learning so quickly you'll run out of things for me to teach you by your fourth year if I don't include all the other classes. I might as well pass my headache on to all the other Professors."

McGonagall's strict teaching helped. Slowly, Raynie's grades steadily grew better. Most of her tutors decided she no longer needed help and let her loose on the world. Charlie however, was always prepared to help, no matter how difficult or trivial the spell.


	13. Chapter 12: Heading Home

Raynie shoved the last of what she would need into her trunk. She was going to visit her muggle relatives for Christmas. She could not wait. She slammed her trunk shut then began to hull it into the common room. As she dragged it into the room, Cedric ruffled her hair, causing her to drop the end she was holding.

"Hey!" Raynie yelled smacking his hand away, "It took me five whole minutes to do my hair!"

"I am so sorry my dear princess, shall I fix it for you?" he said mockingly.

"What? I mean, yes, you shall." Raynie said playing along.

Cedric sat her down in one of the un-used plush armchairs. Raynie hear him mutter a few words and felt a tap on her head. She felt her hair tighten in places and relax in others. After a few seconds on hesitation he murmured another string of words and tapped her head again. Raynie watched her long bangs that fell framed her face turn from the eye-popping pink that she had grown accustomed change to the light brown that was her natural hair color.

"What did you do!" Raynie shrieked, turning to look at him.

"I turned it back," Cedric replied, shocked at her reaction.

"Why in the name of Merlin would you do that?" Raynie yelled, they were drawing the attention of the other students.

"Well you said your…" Cedric began, but was cut off when Raynie made a shrill noise and ran from the room. Cedric didn't even try to follow. She was mad at him, and anything he said would only make it worse. The best thing he could do was wait for her to cool off. Maybe she would like him better after the holiday.

* * *

><p>Fred and George were worried. Raynie was not sitting with the Hufflepuffs as she had planned. Even more surprising she wasn't in the Great Hall at all. Raynie never missed breakfast, lunch, maybe, dinner on occasion, but never breakfast. Plus, she told them if she didn't eat before traveling she gets motion sick, and they had planned on sharing a compartment. They excused themselves and slipped into a broom cupboard to locate their friend.<p>

She was sitting in the kitchen when the boys reached her, a scarf around her head, shrouding her face. She was speaking to a house elf.

"Raynie?" Georges asked tentatively, "Are you alright?"

Raynie jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. She hastily wiped her eyes before answering. "Yeah, I'm fine." Then she smiled a smile so fake it looked plastic.

"Don't lie," Fred said, "Tell us what's wrong."

The smile fell from Raynie's face, "Can you fix it?" she whispered, pulling the scarf off her head. Her hair was blotchy, with a funky shade of green scattered through it.

"What happened?" Fred asked as George went over to inspect the girl's hair.

"Cedric…" Raynie said.

"I never liked him." Fred cut her off.

"no, he put it back to my natural color." Raynie paused, "and then I tried to change it back and well… this." She then proceeded to bury her face in her hands. Fred patted her arm as George lifted a lock of her hair to inspect it better.

"I have good news," George said, Raynie looked up, "I can fix this mess you did to your hair, but if we try to color it, it might fall out."

"Just fix it," She said. George muttered a few words and tapped her head. The splotches faded and the green lost its blue tone. Raynie Day looked like the girl on the train again. She breathed a sigh of relief, then she grabbed her goblet and drowned the juice. The house elves squeaked in protest and Raynie fell over. Fred caught her before she hit the ground.

"What the…." George began, then he turned to the house elves, "What happened?"

"It is all Dinky's fault sir!" an elf said, "Dinky thought that it would be good to give something to calm Miss Raynie Down. Then Dinky would fetch a teacher. Miss Raynie was not supposed to drink it all at once. Dinky is a bad elf. Bad Dinky!" The elf began to hit itself on the head.

"How long will she be out?" George asked as Fred tried to shake Raynie awake, ignoring what the elf said.

"Miss Raynie should wake in a few hours." Another elf spoke, "Will you take her to the train? We have already taken her trunk to her Compartment. We will place your things there too."

"Her compartment?" Fred asked, giving up on waking the girl.

"Yes, the one Miss Raynie asked us to put her things in. The same one she came to Hogwarts in."

"Yeah," George said, "That would be great."


	14. Chapter 13: Christmas Holiday

When Raynie woke up, she was moving, and it sounded like a game of exploding snap was going on. Sitting up, she discovered she was on the train. The twins, Katie and Lee Jordan were in the compartment with her. Morty, whom was curled up in the crook of her arm, protested her movement.

"Aw… Shut up Morty," Raynie said. Her friends looked at her, "Where are we?" she asked.

"A few hours from King's Cross Station;" Katie said, "You were out for a long time."

"Did I?" Raynie asked, "I don't even remember getting on the train."

"That's because we carried you on," Fred said, "By the way, you are too light, you should eat more."

Raynie responded by throwing her cat at him. Morty dug his claws into Fred's clothes. Fred yelped in surprised and tried to pry the cat off of him, but the cat swatted his hands away while the others laughed. After a few minutes Fred had successfully removed Morty from him, with only a few minor injuries. The rest of the train ride consisted of playing exploding snap, eating sweets and seeing how long it took Raynie to pee her pants when tickled.

When the train pulled into Platform 9 3/4 the five children pulled on their muggle winter gear and hulled their trunks off the train. Slowly they exited the platform. All around parents were embracing their children. Katie rushed to hug her dad; Lee Jordan's cheeks were being pinched by a grandmother, the twins and their brothers pattered over to greet their mother, along with two other red-haired kids.

Raynie's parents were nowhere to be seen, but this was to be expected. She bubbled with excitement and began to head towards the exit.

"Hey Raynie," a snide voice called, "Where's your mum and dad?" Raynie froze.

"Hey Byrd, just because your mum won't let you out of your cage, doesn't mean all parents think we will die if given a bit of responsibility." George called. It was a stupid comeback, but the perpetrator didn't reply.

"Raynie, are you alright?" Charlie asked placing a hand on her shoulder. Raynie thawed at that moment, then grew red about her freeze-up. It was not her fault her extended family had come to pick her up. In fact if made her feel quite loved. It was not her fault that the ministry had disallowed her extended family of knowing that she and her parents had magic. Both her parents were Muggle-born and both parents were at least ten years younger than any of their siblings. Both sets of Grandparents were now dead, so there was nothing Raynie could do about it.

"I'm fine, thanks," Raynie said, "My family is… waiting for me at the station entrance. I shouldn't keep them waiting."

"Well dear let us walk you," The boys' mother said, "I'm Molly Weasley by the way."

Raynie smiled a t the woman. She was pleasantly plump, making Raynie feel welcomed, with hair as red as any of her children. Mrs. Weasley began to usher her children away from the platform. As they neared the appointed meeting spot, Raynie saw a group of people. Most were engaged in conversation, but a few were searching the crowd eagerly, including the person Raynie missed most.

"Kylee!" Raynie cried before she dashed towards her friend, her belongings, as well as the Weasleys, forgotten. The girl turned to see Raynie running towards her and began sprinting to her friend. They greeted each other in a hug. Not slowing until they collided. The twins could not help but feel enlightened.

"I missed you so much" Kylee said squeezing her friend fiercely.

"I missed you too!" Raynie replied, her embrace just as firm.

"Raynie dear, who are these people?" Raynie's mother asked. Raynie pulled away and looked. The Weasleys were standing closely with Rayine's luggage in hand. "Now I know I've told you this before, people are not pets, you just can't take them home with you."

"Mum, not in front of my friends." Raynie said as she turned red. Kylee giggled at her sided, "These are the Weaselys, They came to make sure I didn't get lost. The twins are Fred n' George, They're a year above me and my closet mates at school, The big one's Charlie, he helps me study sometimes, he's in his last year. Percy is in his fourth year, he's kind-of conceited."

"Raynie!" Her mother yelled.

"Sorry," Raynie replied automaticly. "This their mum, and I really have no clue who the last two are, but I bet they are as wonderful as the others."

"Hello, I'm Molly Weasley," Mrs. Weasley said, "I've heard so much about your daughter, she seem quite polite, unlike my boys."

"I'm Posy Day," Raynie's mother replied eyeing the twins, "I've heard quite a bit about your boys too."

The mothers began a conversation as Raynie's cousins greeted her one by one, ruffling her hair, kissing her cheek as well as a few punches in the arm. The whole time Raynie's hand never left Kylee's.

The twins looked at Kylee, and decided that she was just like Cedric, there to take Raynie away from them.

Kylee smiled at the boys, a pleasant welcoming smile, but deep inside Kylee was worried. They were better than Raynie had described. Their smiles, their laugh, the way the hung on each other, even the fact that they just seemed lazy. They were so charismatic, even Kylee wanted to jump in their arms and have them take her home with them, and she hated them. Kylee was afraid. Raynie was her best friend in the whole world, but she had a feeling, Raynie was moving into a place where Kylee couldn't follow, and Raynie wanted to go there. Kylee knew Raynie was special, but she knew that people their age had trouble getting along with her. That little bit of knowledge alone had kept her content that Raynie would never leave her.

Kylee had to go the school before Raynie, to get some paperwork done. Raynie was going to fly in a week later. Kylee waited at the airport the whole day waiting for her friend, but she never showed. Then the letters arrived. Begging for forgiveness, but she had to stay in England. She sounded so upset. Then the next letter came. It was full of missing Kylee and asking about America, and Kylee was pleased. Raynie regretted her choice. Kylee could convince her to transfer. Then the next letter was different. It was full of funny stories and photos, photos of not only these two, but of others, a girl, whom looked like she could be an athlete if she wanted, and a handsome boy who had been working out. Kylee had hopped Raynie wouldn't make any friends, and she felt horrible for wishing that. Now Kylee could practically feel Raynie slipping through her fingers. Raynie was moving out of reach into the hands of the red-haired devils. Well, Kylee had three weeks. Three weeks of Raynie all to herself, three weeks to convince Raynie that she did not want to go back to her school in England.

"Bye Fred, George," Raynie said.

"Can't we at least get a hug?" George asked.'

"Without the baggage," Fred added looking at Kylee.

Raynie shot him a dirty look. Then she pulled her fingers out of Kylee's grasp. The twins scooped Raynie up and hugged her fiercely. Actually, it was more like they hugged each other with Raynie stuck in the middle. Raynie giggled while Kylee fumed. The old Raynie never put Kylee second, not to anyone.

"See you on the Train," Fred said "We'll fix your hair then." Then the Weasleys left. Leaving Raynie and her family to get into their cars and drive home.

Raynie and Kylee spent every day together. They went sledding; they shopped and even had a lazy day. Raynie was so relaxed. She could wake up late, read a muggle book without getting weird looks, she didn't have to be dressed before breakfast. Heck she could stay in her pajamas all day if she felt like it. Being with Kylee was the best thing about the Christmas Holiday. Raynie missed Kylee, and it was great to have some girl time. At school she had Katie, but they usually spent their time studying, or with the twins around, so there was no **real** girl time. There was only one problem. Kylee would not stop talking about her new school. It was all Raynie could manage not to shove her sock into the girl's mouth. It was fun at first, but after a while, she just felt guilty about not going.

When Christmas came around, Raynie rolled about of bed and turned off her heated blanket. Christmas was a magical time for Raynie, she always woke up early, no matter how late she went to sleep. Slowly she went to wake her cousins, and Kylee, one by one. The lot of them crept down the stairs and began their Ritual of cooking breakfast.

Raynie's family had a rule, no opening presents without everyone there. The children, all of whom loved getting up early on Christmas day, needed a way to occupy themselves, found their answer with food. It started with eight-year-old Mika making hungry three-year-old Raynie a bowl of cereal. The next year it was oatmeal, the year after that bacon and eggs. Each year more kids joined in and they meals got more elaborate. After time, it just made sense to fix a large meal for the whole family. Doing that, the parents didn't have to cook in the morning and the children were able to open their presents the second all the parents were awake.

Being the youngest, Raynie was given the task of making sure the coffee didn't burn, as well as boiling water for tea. She was only twelve, he cousins didn't think she could do anything better so they gave her a tedious task that really didn't need to be done. That was when she saw the owls. Three of them, perched on the window sill. Each had at least one package with her name written clearly on it. Raynie tried to shoo hem through the glass, but to no avail.

Sighing, Raynie left the kitchen and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She opened her window and called to the birds. Quickly they flew in and dropped the packages on her bed. Raynie looked at the birds; she could see they were freezing.

"Huddle close," she said, wrapping them in a blanket when they obeyed, "And don't poop." She flicked the switch that would send heat into the blanket, then she filled the cup that she kept her toothbrush in to the brim with water.

"Did you come all this way here to deliver gifts?" Raynie asked as the put the glass on the nightstand and inspected the gifts. An owl cooed. There were several packages from the Weasleys, two from Katie and one from Cedric. Raynie felt a pang of guilt, she had been meaning to send her gifts, but with no owl, it just didn't happen.

"Would you take my gifts back with you?" Raynie asked, the owls cooed again, "Ok I'll be back in a few hours to let you out. If you have to poop do it in one spot, and not on any of the beds."


	15. Chapter 14: Back to Hogwarts

"Raynie, please don't go!" Kylee pleaded, "Come back with me instead."

They were back at Kings Cross Station. Kylee had spent the last week desperately trying to convince Raynie that she would get better schooling if she went to school with her. But Raynie wasn't convinced, as much as she missed Kylee, she missed Hogwarts. She truly wanted to go back to school, She wanted to get back to classes, she wanted to talk to the ghosts, and even more surprising she wanted to be shoved into a broom cupboard for a class period.

"I have to go back," Raynie said, "I have to make up with Cedric."

"It's not fair," Kylee pouted, "you were mine first."

"I'm still yours," Raynie said hugging Kylee, "I'll always be yours, until the day I die, or get married. It's just that, I love my school, and the classes. They are not the same as the ones you take, they are so much better."

"Bu I'm going to miss you."

"I miss you already."

"Can I at least watch the train leave?"

"Sorry, stupid school policy, only intermediate family members allowed. And I don't think they would buy that you're my sister."

"But I am your sister, in all the important ways."

"I know, but these people are too stupid to realize that." Raynie said Hugging her friend again, "I'll write, even though it's against the rules."

"You better," Kylee said, "You're coming to visit during the summer right?"

"Defiantly," Then Raynie took hold of her trolley and walked away. She worked her way onto the platform and hulled her trunk onto the train and into her compartment. Only then did she let herself cry.

Raynie missed Kylee dearly and she desperately wanted to go with her best friend. The two girls had planned to got to secondary school together. Than all of a sudden, Raynie's letter came. Her parents decided it was time to tell her the truth, Raynie was a witch and she needed to go to Hogwarts. So Raynie lied. She told her best friend that the airline had messed up and she would be flying a week later and she would see Kylee when school started and that she would call. But Raynie never did, she canceled her ticket and withdrew her application than she disappeared. Raynie just dropped out of Kylee's life. Until the day that she worked up the courage to write Kylee, about a month into the school year. Kylee had written back calling her a liar among other nasty things. Raynie didn't think Kylee ever really forgave her. She knew Kylee was still bitter about her betrayal and Raynie didn't blame her. It was their first real fight.

The Compartment door opened. Raynie looked up in shock. Tears still clung to her cheeks.

"Raynie, what's the matter?" Cedric asked sitting down beside her as he put his arm around her, "I know that holiday ending is sad, but it's nothing to cry about."

"It's not that." Raynie said as she wiped her nose on her sleeve, "I just didn't realize how much I missed Kylee, and now I'm leaving again."

"Kylee's your muggle friend?" Cedric asked, Raynie nodded, "Raynie, don't cry, it always be worse."

"How?" Raynie sniffed.

"Um... well... She could be dead," Cedric said.

"Don't say that!" Raynie yelled as she whacked him in the arm, "Go, leave now! And don't come back until you find some wood to knock on!"

Cedric laughed as he stood up. Then he stooped low until he was face-to-face with Raynie, "You're not crying anymore." he said. Then he kissed her forehead and left.

Fred and George saw Cedric close the compartment door, smiling with a slight chuckle. The pair had heard Raynie yell a moment before. The boys opened the compartment door to find Raynie. Her eyes were bloodshot, cheeks were tear-stained and her face was red. She has obviously been crying, but the odd thing was, she was trying to look at her forehead without the use of a mirror. She was so per-occupied with this task that she did not even notice her enter the compartment. And the twins could not help but wonder, what had happened with Cedric.

The train ride was uneventful, as were the ride in the horseless carriages. Raynie actually grumbled while traveling to and from them, displaying her dislike for the cold.


	16. Chapter 15: DADA

The next few weeks went by in a blur. Valentine's day came and went. Pranks were played, detentions given and served, Raynie's private lessons had started her in second-year spells, and the twins landed Raynie in the Hospital wing a couple times a month. Fluffy was as violent as ever making Raynie visit the hospital wing a few more times. He had gotten so big; Hagrid had to keep him tied to a tree in the Forbidden Forest. Unfortunately all the happy times came with some unpleasant ones.

"you think you're so smart because you can do all the new spells on your first try." A girl in her year said as she pushed Raynie down, "I bet you think you're better than us don't you?"

"Just because you spend all your time with the older students, like Cedric," another girl said, this one a Ravenclaw, "and that Charlie Weasley."

"You lose so many points for our house, there is no way we have a chance at the House Cup." This attacker was a boy.

The Students did not even give Raynie a chance to speak, not that she tried. She knew what was going through their minds and there was nothing Raynie, or anybody, else could say to change that. Raynie did not even fight when they spelled her. She did not plea when they stuffed her into a suit of armor. She did not even make noise as they walked away. She did not want to give them that satisfaction. She knew she would be found sooner or later, she just hoped it was before nightfall.

Raynie fell out of the suit of armor two hours later. Her rescuer, Professor Sprout (and the Fat Friar) sighed and flicked her wand to release Raynie from the spells that bound her.

"Who was it?" Sprout asked when she gave Raynie the ability to speak again, something she had not noticed was gone.

"No one ma'am" Raynie said rubbing her legs, "I just got stuck."

"Nonsense," Sprout replied, "If you just got stuck you would not be spelled like this."

"With all to respect Professor, this castle is magical, the suit of armor might have been booby trapped." Raynie said is a calm voice.

It went back and forth like that for a while. In the end Sprout let Raynie go, with a note to excuse her for being late. The trudged into Defense Against the Dark Arts, she disliked this class, something always seemed to go wrong. The Professor scowled at her, it was her third time being late in two weeks. He opened his mouth to take points, and then Raynie held up her note. The Professor snatched it from her hand and read it. He scowled some more then pointed o her seat. Raynie obeyed the unspoken command and took her seat next to soft-spoken Alexis FreeWing. The two of them were not friends, but the girl did not shun Raynie like the rest of the girls did. Raynie tried not to sit next to the girl too often, for fear of what the others would do to the nice girl.

"I'll copy the notes for you later," Alexis said, "We are on page 236."

Raynie just nodded. She had learned long ago that if SHE spoke in this class, she would get punished. She just opened her book to the desired page and began reading. She only had a moment to glance at the page before the book snapped shut in front of her.

"Now that you all have had enough time to review the material, it is time for a quiz," he said quite malevolently. Several students attempted to open their books, but to no avail. He flicked his wand and parchment flew from the front of the room and landed before each student.

Raynie glanced around, by the panicked looks on some of the students faces she could tell he had promised them more time to study. The Professor smirked at her, as if saying 'there is no way you will pass this quiz.' Raynie blinked. Than her lips curled into a smirk of her own and her eyebrows raised. She looked confident. Not just confident, she looked cocky. Then she looked at her paper and smiled some more before glancing up at the Professor. She recognized that look he was giving her, she had done her job right. She had spent months cultivating that smile. It made people want to slap her. She HAD been slapped by a few, which resulted in several suspensions and firing of staff in her old school. Raynie could see that he was at the end of his rope. All she had to do was do well on this quiz and he would be putty in her hand. Well almost putty. Thank you Professor McGonagall for making me read ahead.

She turned in her quiz quickly. Not the first, but before most students. Many gave her death glares as she moved to and from her desk. It actually hurt. It was not her fault he cut the study time short, it was not her fault she knew the answers and they didn't, and it wasn't her fault the Professor was a childish arse that hated her.

The Professor's quill blazed of over the sheets of parchment, grading them one by one. Raynie did not understand why these people didn't use pens like muggles, they were so much easier to use. Raynie watched as the Professor's quill glided over a test, not touching the parchment, searching for a wrong answer. Eyes bulged and an angry scribble was placed at the top of the parchment. There was a pause, than the scribble was calmly crossed out and replaced with something new, a triumphant smile on the man's face. Raynie knew it was her quiz.

Raynie's heart sank as the quizzes flew back to their owners. As she hand guessed, her's was the one that was untouched. On the top right there was and angrily written 100, but it was crossed out and replaced with at "ZERO." Raynie knew there was no point in complaining. She knew he was wrong, but there was nothing she could do about it. Slowly she began packing up to leave with the other students.

"I deserve an Outstanding," she said as she left the room. If the Professor heard her he acted as if he had not.


End file.
